FR2844731A1 - Washing case for milk cooler tank emptying nose comprises hollow body fixed to emptying pipe and cover which seals pipe end, and pair of outlet pipes able to be positioned for right or left connections - Google Patents

Abstract

The washing case (10) comprises a hollow body (11) fixed to the emptying pipe (4) and a cover (14) which, in the closed position, covers the end of the pipe and seals it. There are a pair of outlet pipes (13,20) positioned so as to allow the use of the case either for a right connection or a left connection. The body is made of plastic and is fixed to the emptying pipe by means which allow its

Description

The present invention relates more particularly to a washing box

  intended to be fitted to a milk cooler tank drain nose.

  This washing unit, also called pumping tee, is installed upstream of the washing system pump which allows, by means of an automatic cycle, to wash the tank after the milk has been harvested. This washing box, as described for example in document FR-2 815

  892, allows, among other things, to ensure the cleaning of the milk evacuation pipe and the fitting which is located at the bottom of the tank. This washing of the tank drain connection makes it possible to avoid, during these emptying operations, the introduction of impurities into the collection tank.

  This washing operation is carried out by means of a pump, centrifugal for example, which circulates a suitable fluid consisting of water and a product of

proper cleaning.

  This cleaning operation is carried out automatically, according to a programmed cycle 15 and it is initiated by the operator in charge of collection, as soon as he has finished

  its operation of emptying the tank.

  The operator in charge of the collection therefore has a complex mission in the sense that it is multitasking. He must take care to connect his tank correctly, under strict sanitary conditions, to the refrigeration tank; he must monitor this emptying and, when it is finished, put away the accessories necessary for this emptying and then return to the level of the cooling tank to prepare it for this automatic washing operation and initiate this automatic washing operation himself. On the other hand, the milk producer must, before any milking operation, check the condition of his cooling tank and in particular ensure that the washing has been carried out correctly. He must also work on the tank to disconnect the washing circuit and above all, close the tank drain valve before introducing any harvested milk. All of these operations, as mentioned in the aforementioned document, are sources of incidents, not only incidents linked to the bacteriological quality of the milk but also incidents such as, for example, forgetting to close the drain valve. The present invention provides a washing box which simplifies the

  tasks of each and to remedy many of the aforementioned drawbacks.

  First of all, this washing box allows the operator in charge of collection to considerably simplify his tasks by avoiding tedious interventions

at the cooler tank.

  For the milk producer, the invention also makes it possible to facilitate the inspection of the state of the tank, thus offering greater security before any operation of

  filling the tank with the collected milk.

  The invention also allows, thanks to the original design of the housing

  washing, to adapt it to any type of existing cooling tank, without compromising either its efficiency or the safety which it provides both to the milk producer and to the operator responsible for collecting.

  In addition, this housing is designed to allow the centrifugal pump for circulating the washing fluid to operate in the best possible conditions,

  by reducing the risks of cavitation phenomena in particular.

  The housing according to the invention comprises: - a hollow body adaptable to the upstream part of the drain pipe which is provided with the connector, and whose cylindrical cavity extends around said pipe, which body comprises at least one tubing for the passage cleaning fluid, which is disposed at a low point relative to said drain pipe, - a cap which covers said connector and sealingly seals the cavity of said body while allowing the passage of said cleaning fluid between said drain pipe and said tube, which cap is articulated on the body,

  laterally, along a vertical axis, and it is movable between an inactive position for which said fitting is accessible and an active locked position for which it covers said fitting and closes the cavity of said body, leaving a passage section for the cleaning fluid which is substantially constant over the entire course from the outlet of said drain pipe.

  Still according to the invention, the body of the washing box has a multidirectional character in the sense that it is reversible and comprises two pipes parallel to each other, perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical cavity, arranged on the same side of said body. and opposite the axis of the cover with respect to said cavity, making it possible to connect said body either on one side or the other, that is to say to the right or to the left of the drain fitting while retaining the use of tubing located in the

  lower part of the body to promote the granular flow of the cleaning fluid.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the second tube, arranged in the upper part of the body, comprises a fitted plug allowing, for example, a connection of the cavity with the circuit for supplying cleaning fluid and / or

  rinsing, so as to directly irrigate the drain pipe and the fitting.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the body of the housing is in the form of an insert on the drain pipe, which piece is preferably secured to said pipe by means of partial connection so as to dissociate the position of said body from that of said duct and allow appropriate and constant positioning of this body and its tubing and in particular that which is

  connected to the cleaning fluid circuit.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the body is fixed to the duct by means of a V-section or trapezoidal half-shell assembly, cooperating with surfaces of suitable complementary shape, for example frustoconical, located for one on said conduit and for the other on the part

upstream of said body.

  Still according to the invention, the housing body and the cover are for example

  made of thermoplastic material, shaped by machining or molding.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the cover comprises a flexible seal 15 intended to cooperate with a seat arranged on the body, which flexible seal is of the type with square or rectangular section, inserted in a circular groove whose section is trapezoidal in shape, with a narrow entrance and the

  area of this section of the groove is slightly less than that of the joint.

  According to the invention, the body comprises on its front, on the side of the drain fitting, an attached seat in the shape of a metal torus, arranged slightly projecting with respect to said front, which projecting is of the order of a few tenths of

millimeters to 1 millimeter.

  Still according to the invention, the articulation between the body and the housing cover,

  comprises an elastic member of the spiral spring type which is positioned between the two so as to tend to keep the cover in the open position.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the device for locking the

  cover on the body consists of a hook with gravity operation on at least part of its travel, which hook and its support are reversible by simple turning over at 1800, that is to say that they can be used whatever the connection side of the pipes of said body with respect to the connection of the drain pipe.

  According to another arrangement of the invention, the cover has a signage arrangement in the form of a flag or the like indicating to the milk producer the state of the emptying nose of its cooling tank and in particular the position

  of the drain valve of said tank, open or closed.

  The invention will be further detailed with the aid of the following description and

  attached drawings, given for information only, and in which: - Figure 1 schematically shows a milk cooling installation provided with the housing according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows the cooling installation with the housing according to the invention arranged to be connected on the other side of the tank relative to Figure 1; - Figure 3 is an elevation with an external half-view at the bottom and a half-section in its upper part, half-section made along a vertical plane passing through the axis of the upper tube; - Figure 4 is a side view of the housing with the body and the cover, the assembly being shown with an external half-view for the lower part of the figure and a half-section for the upper part, half-section along a vertical plane passing through

the axis of the drain pipe.

  As shown schematically in Figure 1, the installation comprises a cooler tank 1 shown partially; this tank is provided at its lower part with an outlet 2 which is controlled by a valve 3 and this valve 3 is extended by a drain pipe 4 at the end of which there is a connector 5 which allows the operator of collection, to connect a pipe to its tank, in a conventional manner. This connector 5 may preferably be a quick connector, which allows, thanks to the invention, to have a

self-cleaning quick coupling.

  When the cooler tank is empty, the operator in charge of collection also has the task of commissioning the tank cleaning installation.

cooler 1.

  This cleaning installation comprises a centrifugal pump 6 driven by

  an electric motor 7 for example. This pump feeds, as described in document FR-2 799 396, an agitating arm provided with jets which make it possible to carry out an effective rinsing and washing of the tank.

  The cleaning fluid circulates in a closed circuit, that is to say it leaves the tank 1 through the outlet 2, crosses the valve 3 and flows through the drain pipe 4 before

  to return to the pump through the return circuit 9.

  To collect the cleaning fluid at the outlet of the drain pipe 4, this pipe is provided with a washing box also called pumping tee 10 generally identified. This washing box includes a body 11 which fits on the

drain 4.

  This body 11 comprises a cylindrical cavity 12 which extends around the duct 4

  and, laterally, it comprises a tube 13 connected to the circuit 9.

  In addition to the housing 10, the body 11 comprises a cover 14 which is integral with said body and which comprises a cavity 15 in which is housed the end of the drain pipe 4, that is to say the connector 5; the cleaning fluid circulates in the cavity 15

  and in the cylindrical cavity 12 of the body 11.

  In fact, this box forms a sort of manifold installed on the drain pipe 4, to collect the cleaning fluid and allow its evacuation to the pump 6 or to a purge P by means of a solenoid valve 16 located on the circuit 9 upstream of said pump 6. This solenoid valve 16 is controlled from a box 17 associated with the tank 1, which box contains the tank control means

  and in particular the means which make it possible to carry out the cleaning cycle.

  Note on the body 11 of the housing 10, in addition to the tube 13 which is connected to the circuit 9, a tube 20 which is connected to the circuit 19 for supplying the cleaning fluid. These pipes 13 and 20 are located on the side of the housing 11, on the side of the pump 6. These pipes are located in the same vertical plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the drain pipe 4 and it is noted that they are placed

  tangentially to the cylindrical cavity 12 of the body 1.

  The tubing 20 in fact comprises a plug 21 which is arranged as detailed below, with a connector so that it can be connected to the fluid supply circuit.

of cleaning.

  The cover 14 is secured to the body 11 of the housing 10 by means of a hinge 22 which has a vertical axis. We also note that the cover 14 and 20 the pair of pipes 13 and 20, are located on either side of the body 11 and the conduit 4. Thus, as shown in Figure 2, the housing 10 accommodates a position reverse of the centrifugal pump, i.e. from a position both on the left in Figure 1 and

  right figure 2, compared to the front of the cooler tank 1.

  The washing box simply rotated around the drain nose, 180, to place these pipes 13 and 20 on the side of the centrifugal pump 6.

  After this reversal, the tubes are inverted for their connection, thus, still in FIG. 2, it is the tube 20 which is connected to the return circuit 9 going towards the pump 6 while the tube 13 comprises the cap 21, which is provided with 'a

  connection with the circuit 19 for supplying the cleaning fluid.

  Note, still in Figure 2, the presence of a hook 23 on the body i1; this hook makes it possible to lock the cover 14 in the active shutter position, which cover comprises for this purpose a lug 24 which is located in the middle part

horizontal of said cover.

  The hook 23 is pivotally mounted to tilt at 1800 and operate at least 35 in part by gravity both Figure 1 and Figure 2, that is to say as well

  for a flow to the pump on the left than on the right.

  FIG. 3 represents the body 11 alone, seen from the front, installed on the drain pipe 4. This body 11 comprises a cavity 12 which extends around the drain pipe 4 and also comprises, on its front 25, means of sealing and in particular an annular seat 26, of toroidal shape which cooperates with a seal which will be discussed later in connection with FIG. 4. This seat 26 has the particularity of being metallic, that is to say to be particularly resistant to all types of attack and in particular to accidental attack caused by the collection operator when he presents his fitting located at the end of the collecting piping, on the fitting 5 located at

  the end of the drain pipe 4.

  This seat 26 appears in the lower part of Figure 3, which is an external view. The upper part of Figure 3 is a section along a vertical plane

  perpendicular to the axis of the conduit 4, and which passes through the axis 29 of the pipe 20.

  This tubing 20 comprises the plug 21, which plug is positioned in a sealed manner by means of an O-ring 30 for example in this tubing 21 and it is fixed by any suitable means, such as for example a through pin 31 situated beyond of said joint. This plug 21 includes a nozzle 32 which allows for example to connect the conduit 19 which is used to fill the circuit and the tank with the product.

of washing.

  This plug 21 may also include another connector 33 for installing 20 other equipment such as for example a purge or a detector of

fluid level.

  Still in FIG. 3, we note, on the right, the articulation axis 34 which makes it possible to mount the cover 14 on the body 11. This articulation is also preferably provided with an elastic member interposed between the body 11 and the cover 14, 25 such as for example a spiral spring 35, visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, which tends to keep the cover 14 in its inactive position, that is to say in the open position to allow

access to fitting 5.

  Still in FIG. 3, we also note, opposite the articulation 34, by

  relative to the cavity 12, an orifice 37 which makes it possible to install the hook 23.

  FIG. 4 shows the washing box 10 installed on the drain pipe 4.

  This drain conduit 4 comprises, at its upstream end 40, a fitting in the form of a threaded nut 41 which allows its attachment to a nozzle.

  classic with a tank emptying nose, or on an adapter piece.

  The washing box 10 comprises the body 11 which is threaded onto the duct 4 and this body 11 is provided with a collar 42 projecting from the bottom 43, which collar comes to bear on a shoulder 44 of the duct 4, which support is also in the form of a collar. The assembly of the housing 11 on the conduit 4 is carried out by means of two half-shells 45 which cover the flanges. These half shells 45 have an internal part, the cross section of which is in the form of a V or a trapezoid so as to cooperate with the flanges 43 and 44 to immobilize them relative to one another in the chosen position. . The two half-shells 45 are assembled by means of a collar 46. The adjustment and locking of the position of the housing 10 on the drain pipe 4 is carried out after having locked said drain pipe 4 on the outlet of the valve 3

  for example or on an adapter part not shown.

  Note that the downstream end of the drain pipe 4, that is to say the connector 5, extends beyond the front of the body 11. It actually extends in the

cover 15 cavity 14.

  This cover 14 also has a seal 47 which cooperates with the seat 26 of the

  body 11. The seat 26 is positioned slightly projecting from the front of the body 11. This projection is of the order of a few tenths of a millimeter to 1 millimeter.

  This seal 47 of the cover 14 is, for example, an annular seal with a square or rectangular section, housed in a groove whose section is trapezoidal, closing towards the outside, and the surface of this trapezoidal section is less than the surface of

  the section of the seal to keep said seal under pressure in the receiving groove.

  The seal 47 positioned on the cover 14 is flush with the sealing surface of said cover. The cover 14 is locked by means of the hook 23, which hook is,

  as previously mentioned, reversible.

  Note, still in Figure 4, the tubing 13 which is connected to the return circuit 25 9 of the pump 6. This tubing is positioned tangentially to the cylindrical cavity 12 of the body 11 and is located below the level of the conduit 4 to obtain good flow gravity. The housing 10 is preferably made of thermoplastic material. It is

  obtained by molding or by machining, both for the body 11 and for the cover 30 14.

  Similarly, the plug is also made of thermoplastic material.

  The passage section of the outlet pipe 13 is substantially smaller than that of the drain pipe 4. It is of the same order as the passage section between

  the end of the duct 4 and the wall 48 of the cover 14.

  The cover 14 can also include an arrangement or a

  signage which informs the milk producer of the state of its cooling tank.

  When the cover 14 is closed, as shown in FIG. 4, the milk producer is informed that the operator responsible for the collection has passed and has started the

tank cleaning cycle.

  In this case, the producer can, by opening the cover 14, check that the cleaning product has been removed and, before putting the installation into service.

  take care to close the drain valve 3.

  He can also, if he wishes, close the cover 14 to avoid all

  risk of damage to the drain fitting 4.

Claims (11)

- CLAIMS   1.- Washing box for emptying nose of a milk cooler tank comprising: - a hollow body (11) adaptable on the upstream part of the emptying duct (4), and whose cylindrical cavity (12) extends around said conduit, which body (11) 5 comprises at least one tubing (13) for the passage of the cleaning fluid, which tubing is arranged at a low point, that is to say at least partially below the level d flow of said drain pipe (4), - a cap (14) which covers the end of said pipe (4) and seals said cavity (12), characterized in that said cap (14) is articulated on said body (11), laterally, along a vertical axis, which cap is movable between an inactive position in which it discovers the fitting (5) which is located at the end of the drain pipe (4) and an active position locked in which it covers said fitting, while maintaining around the latter a passage section for said cleaning fluid, which is close to that of said tubing outlet (13).   2.- washing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a multidirectional character by means of its body (11) which comprises two pipes (13, 20) parallel to each other, arranged tangentially to the cylindrical cavity (12 ) and perpendicular to the axis of said cavity, on the same side of said body opposite the cover with respect to the drain pipe (4), thus making it possible to effect the connection of said body by its outlet pipe, both on the right and on the left depending on the type of installation, always with said outlet pipe in part   low to benefit from the gravity flow of the cleaning fluid.   3.- washing box according to claim 2, characterized in that the second tubing of the body (11) has an arrangement like a plug (21) provided with a nozzle (32) to allow its connection to the conduit (19) supply of cleaning and / or rinsing fluid, so as to directly irrigate the drain pipe (4) and the fitting (5).   4.- washing box according to any one of claims 1 to 3,   characterized in that the body (11) is in the form of an insert 30 on the drain pipe (4), which piece is integral with said pipe by partial connection means so as to dissociate its position from that of said duct, and allow an appropriate and constant positioning of said body and especially of its outlet pipe   which is connected to the cleaning fluid circuit.   5.- washing box according to claim 4, characterized in that the body 35 (11) is assembled on the drain pipe (4) by means of two half-shells of V-section or trapezoidal which cooperate with surfaces of equivalent equivalent shape, located for one projecting on the bottom (43) of said body and for the other, at   level of the upstream end of said conduit.   6.- washing box according to any one of claims 1 to 5,   characterized in that the body (11) and the cover (14) are made of thermoplastic material, obtained by molding or machining.   7. A washing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6,   characterized in that the body (11) comprises, on its facade, connection side (5), an annular seat (26) of the metallic type, in the shape of a torus, arranged so as to be slightly projecting with respect to said facade, which projection is of the order of 10 a few tenths of a millimeter to a millimeter.   8. A washing unit according to claim 7, characterized in that the cover (14) comprises a flexible seal (47) cooperating with the metal seat (26) of the body (11), which flexible seal is of the square section type. or rectangular, housed in a circular groove whose section is trapezoidal in shape, with a narrowed entry 15, the surface of said section of the groove being slightly smaller than that of the joint.   9. A washing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized in that the articulation between the body (11) and the cover (14) comprises an elastic member of the spiral spring type, positioned to tend to hold said cover in the open position.   10.- washing box according to any one of claims 1 to 9,   characterized in that the cover locking device (14) on the body (11) consists of a hook (23) with gravity operation, which is reversible by turning over at 1800, usable regardless of the connection side of the outlet pipes of said body with the cleaning fluid circuit.   11. A washing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10,   characterized in that the cover (14) includes a signage arrangement, in the form of a flag or the like, making it possible to attract the attention of the milk producer and to indicate to him the operating state of his cooler tank and in particular the position 30 of the drain valve (3).